Cabrini Plan Profits Told

Uic Study Claims Developers May Make Money At Residents' Expense

Redevelopment plans for Chicago's Near North neighborhood will result in profits exceeding $100 million for real estate developers and the loss of nearly 1,000 low-income housing units, an analysis released Tuesday indicates.

Although city officials and local developers disputed the conclusions of the study, conducted by researchers at University of Illinois at Chicago Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement, some urban activists latched onto its message.

"The city's plan is not about people," said Bill Wilen, an attorney for the Chicago-based Poverty Law Project. "It's about taking land from families and paying developers to force them out of the community."

Wilen was referring to Mayor Richard Daley's proposed $281 million project that would set aside property taxes for revamping the Near North area. Previous estimates of how many public housing units would be replaced with private development were less than the numbers in the UIC report.

The study's release came one day before a scheduled public hearing on the plan before the City Council. Ald. Walter Burnett (27th), who has supported the mayor's initiative, said the report was not likely to change his mind.

"I'm going to be open-minded about it," Burnett said. "But I also have to think about the future of the community."

Some Cabrini-Green residents who have been pushing for more voice in the planning hoped the report would add more weight to their misgivings.

UIC researcher Yittayih Zelalem said residents of Cabrini-Green would qualify for only 350 of the 700 housing units planned to replace demolished units.

The other 350 units, intended for occupants with annual incomes between $27,500 and $44,000, would be beyond the means of 99 percent of public housing residents, Zelalem said.

Joseph Shuldiner, executive director of the Chicago Housing Authority, said the plan would provide enough new housing for all current Cabrini residents. "Even after demolition there will be 2,300 units left, with probably 600 vacancies," he said.

Dan McLean, a developer cited in the study as a prime beneficiary of the plan, disputed the $100 million profit estimate. He said his profit from redevelopment at the Henry Horner Homes has been about $1,500 per unit.

"Public housing is not exactly a lucrative development opportunity," he said.